food

You probably associate frog legs with French cuisine and its offshoots (they’re pretty popular in Southern Louisiana where I grew up)… but the United States is challenging France as the world’s leader in frog eating. That’s happening, in large part, because some restaurant chains now carry frog legs… which they generally import from farms in China.

Spent much time at farms or ranches? For most of us, the answer is “no”… which may explain why films like Food Inc. have proven so shocking. Most of us could go a lifetime without actually seeing an animal that will end up on our plate.

British photographer and political activist Neil Young (no, not that Neil Young) wants to change this… and his upcoming photography exhibit You, like me: intimate portraits of farmed animals is designed to get viewers looking directly into the eyes of farmed animals.

Last week I spotlighted the new zine Put A Egg On It. This week I caught up with one of the creators, Sarah Keough, to talk about the project.

Why did you start Put A Egg On It?

We wanted to make a magazine together and figured there were already plenty featuring photographs of scantily clad gentlemen so we chose our other favorite topic: food. We were also interested in having fun and creating something with the same kind of feeling as the dinner parties we have with our friends.

Here’s something to bring a little levity in your day: Jennifer 8 Lee (a must-follow on Twitter and author of “The Fortune Cookie Chronicles,” a book exploring the history and Americaness of Chinese food in the US) posted on her blog the above funny fortune that she received in a fortune cookie during a taped…

Animal agriculture has been on the climate change radar since (at least) 2006, when a report by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization claimed that “the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent – 18 percent – than transport. It is also a major source of land and water degradation.” The common response to this news: eat lower on the food chain.

You probably understand “lower on the food chain” as “plants,” but Belgian entomologist Arnold van Huis has a different take on this phrase: he thinks more people should eat insects.

On the heels of the sad news about the death on July 27th of Morrie Yohai, 90, and inventor of Cheez Doodle, is this New York Times round up of the geniuses, some accidental, behind some of our favorite junk foods today. The next time you are enjoying a refreshing popsicle this summer, thank Frank…

Having grown up a couple of hours from Houston, Texas, I have pretty set associations of the city… and they mostly involve the oil and petrochemical industries (and the smell that comes with them), and ugly traffic resulting from massive suburban sprawl. Still, the city has its bright points — Hermann Park, for instance, is a gorgeous hub of green space and cultural institutions — and, now, a partnership between the city government and local non-profits has added another: container gardens around the 25-story Bob Lanier Public Works Building in the city’s downtown.

It’s been almost two years since Newsweek took note of the “the craze for urban poultry farming,” and the trend doesn’t seem to be abating… more localities are amending livestock laws to allow for raising backyard chickens, and more people are discovering that eggs from chickens living only feet away are far superior to just about anything that comes out of the grocery store.

Thinking about bringing some chicks home to raise? A ton of educational resources have sprung up as this practice becomes more mainstream.

You likely haven’t seen much news about the impact the economic decline has had on family owned and operated dairies, but Farm Aid notes that the recession has hit these small businesses particularly hard: the prices of milk paid by processors has dropped 50% since July, 2008. Add this to decades of decline in the small farm and ranch, and you’ve got a recipe for bankruptcy… or creativity.

Professional photographer Dwight Eschliman did an interesting side photo project where he focused his lens on the 37 or so ingredients used to make that all-American snack, Twinkies. Soy lecithin and cornstarch are particularly photogenic, doncha think? [Via]

Fancy Food is a website where users submit before and after photos and recipes of their classy culinary creations and dishes using only their limitless imagination and ingredients from fast food chains. Devon Knight and Jason Isch of Cornerstore Restaurateur submitted this delicious looking “Seared Pollock Cake with Southwest Ramalan Sauce” made with just the following items from the McDonald’s menu: Filet-O-Fish, Southwest Salad, 1 soft drink, and packets of salt and pepper.

Today is National Hamburger Day (thanks Lynda for the head’s up!) and in honor of the carnivore’s delight and one of my favorite things to consume, here are a few fun related links. Artist Yuken Teruya made this neat tiny tree from a Burger King bag. The world’s biggest burger was unveiled last September at…

It turns out colleges aren’t the only ones jumping into the community garden craze: according to yesterday’s New York Times, companies from PepsiCo to Best Buy to Kohl’s are putting in gardening spaces for employees to use.

So, what’s driving this movement towards corporate gardens? A push from employees? Sometimes. A desire for fresh food for the company cafeteria? Occasionally. But the big motivator? “As companies have less to spend on raises, health benefits and passes to the water park, a fashionable new perk is emerging: all the carrots and zucchini employees can grow.”

If you’ve ever wondered what it would look like to see an ecstatic group of people getting smacked in slow motion (700 fps to be exact) with cupcakes of all colors, sprinkles, and flavors shot out of a steam-punk pneumatic cannon, then watch this fun video from Johnny Cupcakes. Who knew getting hit in the…

Neatorama has a fascinating round up titled “unexpected inventions from unexpected people,” like did you know Henry David Thoreau invented raisin bread and that you can thank Margaret Thatcher for soft serve ice cream? Henry David Thoreau, of all people, invented raisin bread when he tossed a handful into the dough he was baking while…

You may be old enough to remember when pizza day was kind of a big deal in the school cafeteria. Now, it seems to be the norm. While kids definitely need more active time outside, many worry that school lunches may be the main culprit in the current childhood obesity epidemic.

The concept of photoblogging of food, or rather artfully composed photo documentation of one’s gourmet dishes has been around for awhile. I used to be rather obsessive about doing this. The New York Times recently covered this phenomenon of people sharing online a photographic food diary, and the article featured the photos and blog of…

Got plans for Earth Day? No doubt there’s a celebration or two nearby… if you’re not sure about what’s going on your area, check out the Earth Day Network’s events search. You’ll likely find events featuring educational demonstrations, product and service displays, or even activism opportunities.

But what about a chance to get your hands dirty… you know, with earth.

What do you do with food scraps? OK, some of them probably go into the trash can or garbage disposal, but you may also compost vegetable and fruit peelings and leftovers. If you’re really die-hard, you may even use a bokashi system, which allows you to compost meat and dairy scraps.

San Francisco-based artist Dan Kenneally’s “Lunch Box” collection is a series of 18” x 18” acrylic abstract paintings where each sandwich’s ingredients are stripped down to their most fundamental. And yet they still look delicious, especially the ice cream sandwich. [Via]

Peter Menzel and his wife Faith began taking photos of families and the food they eat on a weekly basis back in the early 2000s. In 2005 they published the book Hungry Planet: What The World Eats. The photographer now travels universities lecturing students about his discoveries. And the images are featured in an exhibit, running through May, at the Bell Museum of Natural History at the University of Minnesota.

You likely associate community gardens with neighborhoods: residents (either with permission or “guerrilla gardening”-style) take over an empty lot and turn it into a green space. It turns out that colleges and universities have gotten in on the act: a number of schools around the US now offer space to students, faculty, and staff members who want to dig in the dirt, and grow their own food. The University of Idaho is the most recent school to host a community garden; others have done it for years, or even decades. Here are just a few…

It’s Fat Tuesday, and you may be gearing up for a parade, a party, or a big meal featuring Cajun cuisine. While Mardi Gras has become a largely secular celebration, for many Christians around the world, it represents the last blow-out before the season of Lent. Tomorrow, many will attend Ash Wednesday services, and commit to fasting, prayer, meditation, and confession in anticipation of Easter.

As Baptist minister Chad Crawford noted a couple of years ago at sustainablog, the concepts and practices associated with Lent ties in well with green thinking and activity. No, that doesn’t mean that environmentalists are gloomy and demand constant sacrifice; it does mean that this period of reflection and simplicity can allow for meaningful thought on our relationship to the natural environment.

If you’ve ever eaten eggs that comes straight from the farm (especially one that allows its chickens to range somewhat freely), you know that nothing from the grocery store comes close in terms of flavor. Master Composter Tom Shelley and farmer Christianne White, of Ithaca, New York, are trying out a new model for getting local residents hooked on such eggs while lightening their environment footprints: exchanging compostable “trash” for a regular supply of such eggs.